2013 World Championships

Davis & White are Golden, while Virtue & Moir are Dazzling but
Disappointed

by Alexandra Stevenson

(17 March 2013)

Russians Place Fourth in Free, but win Bronze

Results from this event determined how many
entries each nation is allowed for the 2014 Sochi Olympics. The
United States, Canada and Russia gained the maximum three slots
for ice dance.

Marina Zoueva, who trains the top two couples,
was asked if she had already decided what music they would use
next season. She smiled enigmatically, and said, “Yes, it is in
my head.” But she declined to reveal any clues as to what her
first choices are. Scott Moir said, “We’re not going back into
the classic (ethereal) Virtue-Moir everybody wants, because
we’re older and more mature.”

What do the Canadians have to do to stand a
chance of getting back on top?
Moir smiled and said, “Well, we’ve got almost a year to
figure that out. Meryl and Charlie are great skaters. We take
our hats off to them. I know I get a bit fired up about our
battles, but the sport is something we’re all passionate about
and have been all our lives. That in no way is to discredit
them. We know what we’re up against. We see them in practice
practically every day so their abilities are no secret to us!
They push us and we push them.”

How does the coach cope with training the
adversaries on a daily basis? Zoueva claims the daily grind and
close contact motivates them both. “I’m always happy for both
teams. They are unbelievable skaters. No matter what they do, it
is with all their soul and energy. Does second place matter when
you are moving people, when you are getting people emotionally
involved in discussing the creativity and strong points of what
both couples are doing? They each make the other stronger. This
is a very demanding sport. One slip is incredibly costly. Both
couples put their whole life on the line in competition. A
battle is always so much more interesting than a runaway, taken
for granted win.”

Davis & White are the United
States’ most successful and longest lasting ice dance couple in
international competition. They teamed up in 1997, when she was
9 and he 8, and, in 2011, became the first ever Americans to win
the world ice dance title. Although they lost to their long-time
rivals in 2012 in a controversial but not close decision in
Nice, they dominated this go-around in their main rivals’ home
area, earning gold by a substantial margin of 4.52 points.

With all the interest in this
highly successful duo, who won the Olympic silver medals in
Vancouver, you would think there is nothing more that can be
revealed about them. But the personable duo is a part of an
inspirational program known as “Classroom Champions”, which also
includes Ashley Wagner.

In their video presentation, Davis reveals that she is dyslexic. She lacks depth
perception and has trouble seeing with her right eye. That puts
an extra burden on her partner, who must constantly watch out
that she notices how close other skaters are to her in practice
and in warm-ups. It’s a little easier for her when there are
hockey lines painted into the ice, but top class competition
eliminates these markings, so White must be particular alert in
practice and warm-ups at these events.

Davis & White have already had positive feedback from youngsters helped
by this program, including a boy who wrote that seeing them
speak about the condition he has, made a huge, positive change
to his life.

White explained that, after
all this time, by now, watching out for Davis is an automatic
reaction and he doesn’t even think consciously about that
important chore. Davis’ mother, Cheryl, explains White has done
this throughout their career. He is an expert at reading and
reacting to Davis’ actions. It is just part of their
partnership. Davis didn’t talk about this handicap, before
making the Classroom Champions’ Presentation because she felt it
might influence the judges’ decisions.

The local press also unearthed
a lovely story about Davis’ grandfather, who is Canadian. He met
and courted the 16-year-old who would become his wife on a beach
very near London. Now 85, he was unable to travel to the event
but watched his grand-daughter’s win on television.

The duo’s families live close
to each other in the Detroit area, the Davis’ in West Bloomfield
and the Whites in Bloomfield Hills, not far from the Detroit
FSC, where Davis & White learned to skate. They had a big
problem initially because they were both so shy, they wouldn’t
look at each other, a major problem in ice dance, in which the
inter-reaction of a couple is a part of the sport. Finally,
their coach, Seth Chavetz, drew a smile on a sticky and stuck it
on Davis’s forehead and told Charlie to look at that!

Davis & White lost their world
title in Nice last March in a controversial but not close
decision. This year, it was their Canadian rivals who stood on
the second stage. Virtue had messed up a twizzle in the SD,
possibly because of the momentum of her swinging knee-length
under-skirt of many frills. Just a couple of ounces can generate
a lot of torque if the momentum is strong enough. That gave them
a deficit of 3.25 going into the Free.

The two couples were much
closer in the Free Dance with only 1.27 separating them, but
Davis & White were the clear winners. They reclaimed the world
title with a scintillating assembly of nine elements intricately
woven into their dramatic “Notre Dame de Paris” four minute
presentation.

Amazingly both couples have trained
together in Canton, Michigan, with Marina Zoueva, for many years
so they are VERY aware of each other’s capabilities. (Until last
April, their training was supervised by both Zoueva and Igor
Shpilband at the Arctic Edge facility, but, in a messy
situation, he was blocked from teaching there. He immediately
transferred to the Novi rink which also has twin rinks, and is
not far away. There he trains a collection of European skaters
and the highly promising Madi Chock & Evan Bates, who finished
seventh here in their debut at this level.)

Davis & White have not put a blade wrong all season. Their
Giselle Short Dance was one of the best routines they have ever
done, and was an incredibly difficult creation executed in a
clearly superior manner. Davis said, in her soft voice, "We're absolutely thrilled, not
only at winning, but at putting out two performances we're
really proud of. We're well aware this is Scott and Tessa’s
territory and the level of respect and enthusiasm we got from
the audience was really thrilling, so we're very appreciative.

“The season was great and we approached it in and of itself and that
has been an asset to our career. We have worked
really hard and have a very good work ethic. We are very happy.”
Her partner added, “The Canadian crowds have been supportive and
we offer our heartfelt thanks for their support.
We train to do our job and the crowds have no big effect
on us. We are exhausted but it is a good feeling, because we
left it all on the rink and we are happy about that.”

No couple received Level 4 (the
maximum) for their Diagonal or Circular steps. However, Davis &
White received the next highest level, 3, for those two
elements, and they were rewarded with Level 4 for everything
else except for the very short choreographed lift which has only
Level 1.

Their Diagonal and Circular
Steps earned the maximum +3 Grade of Execution, respectively
from two and three of the nine judges.
Their top rating came for their straight line and second
rotational lifts, for which seven of nine judges awarded them
+3. (The first rotational lift received six +3s, the same as for
their opening element, their spin.) In total they received 43 of
these ultimate accolades out of a possible 81. One judge punched
in +3 for all the nine elements but another punched in only one.

No judge gave 10 for the second
category “Linking Footwork/Movement”. All nine judges gave at
least one 10.00 for their mark for one of the five separate
components, while one judge pushed in 10 for four of the five
categories. (He/She was the only judge to give a 10 for the
first category which is for “skating skills”).

Davis & White drew to skate 18th of the 20 couples
allowed into the Free Dance, while their main opposition drew to
perform 16th, an unpopular spot
immediately after the warm-up which means that couple must be
careful not to exhaust themselves because they have no time to
recover.

The men’s (White and Moir)
rivalry pre-dated their figure skating battles. Both were hockey
brats and are the same age, 25. (Moir is older - he was born on
September 2, 1987. White was born on October 24, 1987). They
actually played against each other in a state-province match-up,
but, after White broke a leg which cost him & Davis most of a
season, during which the Canadians surged ahead, he was urged to
give up that part of his life.

He explains, “I was such a
good player because of my figure skating skills. The other
members of the team really respected that - what figure skating
was able to do to improve my basic speed and control on the ice.
I think that led them to respect figure skating. Through the
years, I’ve been in contact with the guys and they continue to
be very supportive of my figure skating. They were very
understanding when I decided to step away from hockey.”

Virtue, who is 23, & Moir were teamed up by his
aunt, who is a skating coach. After winning the Canadian novice
title, they moved to the Canton rink, which had just opened in
2003, and where both couples still train side-by-side. For all
their rivalry, such close proximity has worked. In their first
World Seniors, 2007, in Tokyo, the Canadians finished 6th
and the Americans 7th. Many
said that, under the previous, simpler system, the youngsters
would never have got into the top ten at their first entry.

But, while the Canadians soared to second in the
World in 2008, the U.S. couple just advanced to 6th.
However, in Los Angeles, in 2009, when the Canadians got bronze,
Davis & White were a very close 4th.
White said, “That was a frustrating time because we were so
close to getting a medal.”

The Canadians remained ahead
in the following Olympics, but Virtue’s compartmental stress in
her shins slowed them down and they hardly competed in next
season 2011 season, except to lose their world crown to Davis &
White.

At a minor league early season event in Finland
in the fall of 2010, local journalists asked Moir, why the
Olympic champions had come to such a low key event. It was, of
course, to get judges’ feedback and ferret out possible low
levels and the intricacies of the new rules. They did not want
to expose themselves at home, where any flaws would immediately
have been publicized on the internet.

So Moir, who is a joker, cracked that he had come
to Finland to see the (top level) hockey game and didn’t even
know there was a figure skating event taking place. But, when
they realized that, of course, they agreed to take part!

In London, despite their loss
in both sections, Moir said, “We are very happy with our skates
this week. We were strong. We had the right approaches and we
feel these are performances to build on for next year. It was
neat for Tess and I to see our community really pull together.
Everybody was telling us it was the best Worlds they had been
to.

“Of course, we are
competitive. We like to win. Losing is tough to take. We held
nothing back in both performances. We had strong, innovative
material. This will help us for next year.”

On the stage there
have been many updated versions of the basic Carmen tragedy.
Producers are always looking for a new angle to show a story to
Bizet’s wonderfully stirring music. Virtue & Moir have
contributed to a new feminist version in which it is Don Jose
who is devastated at the end while Carmen, attired in a very
sexy one-shoulder, backless black dress,
stands over him disdainful, and ready to move on with her new
love, the famous toreador.

They received the same Levels
as Davis & White, but two of their elements, the circular and
diagonal steps, failed to get a single maximum Grade of
Execution of +3 from the panel of nine judges. Their total of
+3s for all their elements was “only” 29, although that is a
little misleadingly lower because they combined two short lifts
into a long lift! The long lift has a base Level of eight points
(twice the alternative of two short lifts). However, the judges
give just one GoE for the long lift.

(There are mathematics going on and factors involved that take
account of this situation, although an error in this process was
discovered – and subsequently corrected - after the Grand Prix
Final in Quebec City.) Their long lift was a very complicated,
spectacular version in which she sort of did a variation on an
Axel into his arms and he swung her around his neck multiple
times. Only one judge failed to award +3 for this element.
Although they did receive four 9.75s for Skating Skills and two
9.75s for the Linking Footwork/Movement, there were no tens for
these two categories. However, they received seven (out of a
possible nine) 10s for Performance, four 10s for Choreography,
and another four for Interpretation/Timing.

All though the season, as
their Carmen routine developed, the piece stretched their acting
abilities, and some said it was a bit too racy and some of the
moves were too smoldering and adult. “We’d be lying if we said
we came here to get the silver,” Virtue admitted. “After the
Short Dance we were in a bit of a hole. But we came out here and
battled.”

It was certainly a sultry presentation, and
Virtue’s facial expression at the end showed off her great
acting potential. “First of all, we are really proud of
our skate. We had a lot of fun out there. We have to celebrate
these moments. There are not an infinite amount of them, and you
have to do your job. But we had a special moment. We
accomplished all of our goals in this competition. We are
looking forward to the challenge of next year and making the
most of it. We would like to win the Olympic gold medal so you
know it’s just back to work now and that’s fun and exciting and
something to look forward to really pleased.”

Moir added, “We wanted to do
something different, wanted to be innovative. We did this for
ourselves. This community has been support of us from day one.
We feel we gave our fans today a bit of a show.
We had a speed bump at Four Continents, and were able to
come back strong from that. We are competitive. We like to win.
Defeat is tough to take. But we held nothing back in both
performances. We had strong, innovative material and this will help us for next
year.”

Virtue said, “It’s the best we
skated this year. We are so happy to end the season on a high
note. Sochi is coming up quick. We are looking forward to next
season, an Olympic year. This is a great building block.”

Moir said they loved the
support and were thrilled to compete in front of people who’ve
been supporting them from before they got into their teens. But,
he admitted the week was, “exhausting. You walk in the door and
sometimes it felt like we couldn't get away from it. You walk
into the arena and you know every single volunteer. You know
every single bellman at the hotel. Everyone knows who you are.”

Their presentation was totally
different to their ethereal Free presented in the Vancouver
Games, which was set to music by Gustav Mahler, in which they
appeared other worldly and floated around the rink like
swallows.

Moir admitted that people have
told him, their Carmen was too worldly. “I think there's a lot
of figure skating people who weren't really on our level, and
didn't agree with our choice at all. We'll see what we can make
next year. We're not going to go back into the classic Virtue
and Moir that everyone wants, because we’re older and more
mature. I think we’ll have something special for you next year.

“We really pushed ourselves
this year with some tricky elements and tough stuff. Everything
that we did was new. I think we know what we have to do. We have
to do ‘us’ a little bit more, show off the kids we are, that
people have grown to love.

“Charlie & Meryl are great skaters and we take our hats off to
them. We respect them and know they are strong. They are
amazing. We're both pushing the sport, and each other.”

The new European champions,
who drew to skate immediately following Davis & White’s
sensational showing, gained only Level 2 on both step sequences.
They finished 4.85 points behind the Canadians overall. Fourth
place behind the Italians in the Free did not eject them out of
the third spot they had gained in the Short Dance.

They portrayed a tragic story
of a kind-hearted young woman who sets out to rescue a drug
addict but ends up getting involved herself. That pushes him
into action and he gets “clean” to rescue her. But their
terrible times have scarred both of them and, at the end, they
part. They used music from “Man With A Harmonica” and “Tosca”.
They received a total of six +3s, two for their initial
rotational lift, two more for their last lift which was also a
rotational version, plus one for their curve lift and one for
their choreographed lift. Their component score was third best,
but the element score was rated only seventh.

They were only 1.15 ahead of the Italians. Soloviev, who is 23, said,
“This (medal win) is an incredible, indescribable feeling.
Europeans and Worlds are completely different competitions. This
is a different level and there are different competitors. We
have worked very hard for this and we want to thank everybody
who supported us and believed in us that we can achieve high
placements at World Championships.” They declined to comment on
how it was that their perceived strong rivalry with their own
country’s skaters failed to materialize.

Bobrova, who is 22, said, “At Europeans we were first after the
short dance and the difference in points to the other couples
behind us was also very small. So we are already used to it.
Here, as well, everybody was ranked closely together. I decided
not to look at the scores at all. You have to concentrate fully
on yourself. We focused on skating clean and giving our best
performance. I was more nervous than in the Short Dance, but,
emotionally, the Free Dance was strong and, for me, our best
Free Dance of the season.”

They were very unfortunate to
draw to skate their Carmen routine right after the Canadians’
standing ovation. It was a more traditional interpretation, and
it is to their credit and good skating, that even with music
from the same opera, they still managed to get third place in
the Free. Both their step sequences were Level 3, and the other
elements got Level 4 (except for the set Level 1 for the
choreographed lift). However, they received only one +3 Grade of
Execution, which was given for their long lift which elicited
+2s from the other eight judges.

Cappellini, 26, said, “It has
been a great night. It was a big challenge going on after Tessa
and Scott with the same music. We didn’t want to look weak
compared to them so we had to work even harder. We are honored
to be here and appreciate this experience. We are taking no
vacation. On Monday we are back on the ice to get ready for next
season. We want to go to the Olympics extremely prepared.
Hopefully next season will be our best season yet.”

Lanotte, 27, added, “This is
our best season so far. We are very happy and we worked very
hard. Overall with tonight, we are really happy with how we
performed.”

Weaver, 23, & Poje, 26,
skated last in the pen-ultimate warm-up group, to “Humanity in
Motion” by Nathan Lanier. She is a Texan who left the United
States in her mid-teens to skate with Poje and they made their
debut in the world championships back in 2007, finishing a
promising 20th in Tokyo. They
improved to 17th the following
year but then spent two seasons watching Worlds on television.

Trained by Pasquale Camerlengo
& Angelika Krylova, with Shae-Lynn Bourne doing their
choreography, the duo persevered, working hard, and got back on
the Canadian team, finishing fifth and fourth in the past two
worlds. They were so excited about this Worlds in their own
country but then, on December 14,
Weaver smacked into the boards at the Detroit FSC, feet first,
while practicing a change in their Free Dance.

She initially thought she had just “tweaked something” in her ankle,
but consulted a doctor on the advice of others just to make
sure. However, it was a broken fibula and she needed surgery. It
seemed obvious that was the end of this year’s season. They even
cancelled an order for new outfits. Poje explained, “I kept
practicing by myself, but I believed this season was over.”

Weaver did get back on the ice
but they were only able to resume full training a couple of
weeks prior to this event. She had been avidly pursuing
post-surgery exercises. “Getting back on the ice was
exhilarating. I was so sad to be off the ice. It’s what we do.
It’s our job and to be sidelined was really a tragic thing for
me beyond any competition or result.”

They did have to change the music a little. At the start of the
season, their goal was a medal at the world championships. But this
result is one they will treasure. She said, “I
wish we could just freeze this moment in time. All our hard
work, me being in the physio and Andrew skating by himself for
two months, came together with an incredible result, finishing
out the season skating before a home crowd.”

Their circular steps were
Level 3, and the diagonal only Level 2 but fifth in the Free
Dance pulled them up a place to fifth overall, and was a very
acceptable result. Poje said, “This season was a true test for
the strength of our character and for us as a team. It showed us
that no matter the circumstances, we were able to
finish out our season with worlds in Canada. It’s like a dream.”
They earned three +3s for both of their curve lifts. Their
element score was 5th best, but
their components, which ranged from nine 8.25s up to a 9.25,
were 7th best.

Weaver added, “I had been told
there was only about a 10% chance of me rebounding enough to
compete in London. I ended up doing about six hours a day
physiotherapy. I was very determined.” Surgery has left her with
a plate and five screws holding the fibula together. She came
back on the ice on February 6.

Their Free, to a Rolling
Stones medley (“Miss You”, “Angie”, “Symphony for the Devil” and
“Start Me Up”) was clearly a struggle for him. They dropped two
places from fourth, with an 8th
element score and a 4th in the
components. He suffered a bad thigh injury in January, which
kept him off the ice for many weeks. They were unable to defend
the European title they had held for the previous two years.

Bourzat, 32, explained, “Our
skating wasn’t too bad. We got lower Levels than we’d hoped for.
The competition was just too early for us after my injury. It
just wasn’t possible to do better. Now we have to look forward
to next season, recover and then start training, training,
training!”

Both step sequences were only
Level 2, and the twizzles and combination spin were Level 3. The
four lifts, however, did earn the maximum Level 4. No judge gave
them a negative Grade of Execution, and they earned two +3s for
both their rotational and straight line lifts, and another +3
for their second curve lift. Their components range from five
8.50s up to two 9.50.

Chock, 20, & Bates, 24,
who are trained by Igor Shpilband, teamed up in April 2011.
After earning silver in this season’s U.S. championship, this
was their first Worlds appearance, and they were delighted with
their rookie showing. They presented their Dr. Zhivago Free 14th,
immediately following their teammates, the Shibutanis. The
smooth-flowing routine was rated sixth best with the 4th
highest element score and the 8th
highest components, but they stayed 7th
overall. The two sets of footwork and their twizzles were Level
3. Both their serpentine lift and their choreographed lift
received three +3 GoEs.

Chock said, “We tried not to
put too much pressure on ourselves for this long program.
We feel we got better and better as the season
progressed. We are now
going to take some time off from training. The tall Bates added,
“We achieved the goals we set for ourselves for worlds.
Next we learn the Finnstep, pick our music and prepare
for training camp. Our goal for next year is the Olympics.”

Deductions for extended lifts
in both Short & Free Dance sections at nationals cost them what
would have been their third straight silver, so they were
particularly focused on not repeating that aspect and, in this,
they achieved their goal. Their Free Dance, set to “Memoirs of a
Geisha”, was given one +3 for their twizzles. Both step
sequences were Level 2, but the other Levels were all 4s. They
held onto their Short Dance standing.Alex Shibutani,
21, said, “We are happy. It was a great way to end the season.
We were really looking forward to performing our long one
last time. We took our time and enjoyed it. Unfortunately, we
didn´t get the levels we wanted in the footwork. It was a strong
performance, and this was a great way to end this year. We feel
we accomplished much. Going forward, we have a plan with our coach
for next season. Of course, we want to make the Olympic team. It will
be an exciting next season. We want to find music we really love and
then work our butts off.”

His sister, 18, said, “I was
really proud of how we skated and of the reaction of the crowd.”
They train in Canton with the top medalists and Marina Zoueva.

Ilinykh, 18, and
Katsalapov, 21, who are trained by Nikolai Morosov, were VERY
upset at their placement. The 2010 world junior champions were
runners-up in this season’s European championship and third the
year before. They skated just before the Shibutanis, to music
from the movie “Ghost” and stayed 9th,
although their Free was rated only 10th
best. They were the only couple in the top 14 to get a negative
overall Grade of Execution, which was -0.29 taken off their
Level 2 combination spin. Their Diagonal steps were also Level 2
and the Circular steps Level 3. Their final rotational lift was
only Level 1.

Ilinykh said, “We were very
disappointed after the Short Dance. We felt we skated quite well
and then we were shocked about our placement. The day off was
tough, but we were determined to skate well in the free dance.
Unfortunately, the mistakes added up, first the spin and then
the lift. It is a big disappointment. Maybe we need to change
our mental and physical approach. But it was very exciting and
energizing to compete in this group. The competition is
unbelievable strong now and it is not a shame to lose to such
great couples as Kaitlyn (Weaver) and Andrew (Poje) and also
Madison (Chock) who skated very well with her new partner (Evan
Bates). We can feed off this kind of strong competition.”

The four times German
champions, Zhiganshina, 25, who was originally Russian, and
Gazsi, 28, presented their very amusing and well-received Zombie
number to earn 8th in Free
Dance but that was only able to pull them up one place. They
earned the same Levels as Davis & White and they even received
two +3s, for their closing choreographed lift. Their music was
“Tore my Heart” by Oona; “Et Maintenant?” by Jean Marc Zelwer;
and “Rama Lama” by Roisin Murphy.

Zhiganshina said, “It was tough
to skate today, but the audience was great and helped us a lot.
This was our best performance and a lot of fun. It was great
that the routine’s last outing should be its best. It’s also a
bit sad that we are done with this free program now. We hope
everyone like it. After being eleventh in the Short Dance we
were very motivated for the free, we really want to be top ten
because we really wanted to get a second spot for Germany for
the next year. Now we have to wait and see.”

Riazanova, 21, & Tkachenko, 26,
presented a routine to music from “The Godfather” which had one
+3 GoE for the concluding choreographed lift. In addition to
Level 4s, their diagonal steps were only Level 2, the circular
steps were Level 3 but their rotational lift was only Level 1.

Tkachenko said, “It was a very
easy skate. It was very free. We are very happy about the skate.
Our coaches said it was good. We did our best. It is a happy
ending to our season. We are going to Detroit to prepare our
next two programs, before our May vacation. We’re hoping to get
to Hawaii!”

Carron, 26, & Jones, 24, skated
to Jacques Brel’s “La Chanson des Vieux Amants”. They are now
being trained in Wales, which is his home country by Britain’s
by Marika Humphreys and they have been spending time with Igor
Shpilband. Like Coomes & Buckland, they chose to do Midline
instead of Diagonal Steps but received only Level 2 with +0.14.
Their circular steps were Level 3 but only with the base value.
And like Gilles & Poirier, they presented a Stationary lift.
None of their moves received a negative.

Carron, who is French, said,
“We are very happy that we could show a beautiful performance.
We worked with Igor Shpilband before Europeans already and now
again for two weeks before coming to Worlds. This really helped
us a lot and of course to train alongside the other great
couples that are with him. We tried to prove that we can be
different, more artistic. Even as a skater you might get ‘bored’
with doing the same lifts and moves all the time, so for next
season, we will try and be even more creative.”

The British champions,
who are both 23, skated tenth, just before the ice resurfacing.
They performed to “Red Alert” & “Do Ur Thing” by Basement Jaxx
vs Metropol Orkest. They did not have a good showing. They were
10th after the Short Dance and
dropped three places after getting no points at all for their
spin. They also gained a mere Level 1 for the rotational lift
which came next, and only the base value for the short
choreographed lift. But, that was still one place up from last
year.

They had begun well with their
+0.64 Level 4 twizzles and +1.71 long lift which received Level
4s for both parts. They chose to do Midline steps instead of the
Diagonal and that got Level 3 with +0.14. The curve lift was
Level 4 with +0.71, and the Level 3 circular steps received
+0.43. When she came off the ice, her coach, twice Olympic
champion Evgeni Platov explained, “She went straight to the
medical room. Penny was hyperventilating. She couldn’t breathe.
She was over excited. This happened to her before, in Vancouver
(2010 Olympic Games) and in practice yesterday. They should have
stopped, taken a medical break, but they carried on.”

Heekin-Canedy, 21, & Dun,
23, train in Hackensack, NJ, performed to “Oroboy, Tango
Serenato & Gypsy”. Both step sequences were Level 2. They stayed
14th despite their Free placing
two slots lower. Both step sequences were Level 2 and the
Diagonal steps got a full point removed from the move’s base
value of five points.

Heekin-Canedy admitted, “This
was not our best performance. We are really happy with the short
- that was our best. Unfortunately, we were under a lot of
pressure today and didn’t perform as well as we would have
liked. This is a big improvement from Europeans and we feel that
this is a good way to end the season. We are really looking
forward to improving for next season.”

Tobias, 21, & Stagniunas,
26, who train with Igor Shpilband at the Novi rink, finished 14th
in the 2011 world championships. They earned positive Grades of
Execution for all of their elements. They rose three places from
their 18th for the Short Dance.
However, their Diagonal and Circular steps were only Level 2.
They performed to Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.2.

Zlobina, 23, & Sitnikov,
26, are trained in Moscow by Alexander Zhulin. They were 12th
in the 2012 Worlds. They performed to music by Goran Bregovic,
Mahalageasca & Ausencia, getting Level 2s on both steps and a
negative -0.36 on their Level 4 twizzles, their only mistake.
They were only able to climb one place from their standing after
the Short Dance.

Guignart, 23, & Fabri, 25, from Italy, are trained by Barbara
Fusar-Poli & Igor Shpilband. They were unlucky in that they were
16th in the Short Dance and 15th in
the Free but finished up 17th.
They were 19th in their debut
in 2011. They skated to music from Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons”.
They received a Level 2 on their Diagonal Steps but with a
+0.57; and a Level 3 on the Circular Steps with -0.14, which was
their only negative.

Gilles & Poirier, who are
both 21, dropped three places from 15th
after their Short Dance. They teamed up in July
2011. He had been Canadian champion with his former partner,
Vanessa Crone, finishing 12th,
7th & 10th
in the 2009, 2010 & 2011 world championships and 14th
in the Olympic Games.

Skating to unusual music, “The
Gulag Orchestra” by Zach Condon; and “I Don’t Think About You
Anymore but I Don’t Think About You Any Less”, by the Hungary
Ghosts. They earned five Level 4s including for their stationary
lift, a move their coach invented. But, on their Level 2
twizzles, he jackknifed forward and had to put both hands on the
ice to keep from falling. This was penalized as a fall. They
also lost a full point from the base value of this Level, which
is 4 points. Their opening circular steps and the midline steps
were Level 2.

It was Gilles’ first Worlds,
and her enthusiasm was reflected in her statement, “It was
amazing. We will never forget it.
We are pretty excited and want to thank the Canadian
audience. They have been great. We had a few small babbles but
had to put them behind us and finish. We feel we did a good job.
We are proud of ourselves and proud of our first worlds.” Her
maternal grandmother is Canadian, and her mother was born north
of the border.

Poirier, who is studying
linguistics at the University of Toronto, was a little more
circumspect, declaring, “It was essential that we put out our
maximum performance. We take our small mistakes as a learning
experience and keep going. It is so nice to compete in our home
country. There is so much support. The volunteers have been
amazing and looked after every aspect of our competition. Our
coach, Carol Lane, said to approach it like an interclub event.
It is just that, at worlds, the stakes are higher and the crowd
is bigger.”

Hurtado, 20, & Diaz, 22, are the Spanish champions. She was born
in Barcelona and he in Madrid, but they now train in Montreal with Marie-France
Dubreuil & Patrice Lauzon. Their routine was set to music by
Stevie Ray Vaughan, “Little Wing” & “Pride and Joy”. This was
their third World championship. They were also 19th
last year, and 23rd the year
before. They earned six Level 4s. Their element score was 15th
best, but they ranked only 20th
for their components. They had been 20th
after the Short Dance.

Cathy, 25, & Chris, 23,
had been lying 19th but dropped
a place. The siblings have been ice dancing since 2001. Cathy &
Chris were both born in Kalamazoo, and won the U.S. Novice
championship but decided to compete for Japan because that is
the nationality of their mother. They train in Hackensack, NJ.
In London, they opened the Free Dance, performing to a Beatles
medley. Five of their moves were Level 4. But their twizzles
were Level 3 with -0.50 GoE removed from the base value of five
points. Their diagonal steps were Level 2 with -0.43 taken off
the base value for that Level, which is also five points. They
were awarded the base value for their Level 2 circular steps,
which is also five points.

Cathy said, “We wanted to
show confidence in our program, and wanted to feel happy, relax,
and show more feeling in the presentation. Our coach (Galit
Chait) told us to relax. The pressure’s there, but we can´t
worry. We need to do the best we can. It’s been four years since
we were in Canada. Everyone has been extremely nice.” This was their sixth Worlds,
with a best placing of 13th in
2011. (Their younger sister, Alison, represented Israel in this
event with her partner, Vasili Rogov, but were 23rd
in the Short Dance and 21-29 were not allowed to progress to the
Free.)